Wonderland
by ACreativeUsername
Summary: Sometimes you have no choice but to let go. A different wording of the end of MOA. One Shot.


_Flashing lights and we_

 _Took a wrong turn and we_

 _Fell down a rabbit hole_

 _Wonderland/Taylor Swift_

Percy gripped the railing of the Argo II tightly. Leo glanced over several times, and the other boy could tell that he was making an effort not to crack a joke. Percy was tense now, however, and laughter definitely wouldn't help his mood. No one would be happy until the quest was finished. And when (if) they were all safe…well, he'd figure it out then.

"You doing alright?" Jason caught him by surprise, clapping him on the shoulder. "Relax a little. She's fine, I'm sure. You know how tough she is." He sounded much more mature for his age than Percy could ever be.

A fool could find the admiration in Jason's voice, and Percy felt a twinge of protectiveness, which was quickly doused. That was ridiculous. Jason had a girlfriend anyway.

"Did Piper find anything?"

The other boy shook his head sorrowfully. "The power must be too strong for Katropis to penetrate. It'll be okay, man."

Percy desperately wanted to scream at Jason, accuse him of trying to make things lighthearted. Everything was not going to be okay, he wanted to tell him. His girlfriend could be dying, bleeding to death in the depths of Rome, while they were joking around and drinking smoothies. He glanced over at Piper and Hazel, who were lounging on some chair in the sun. They quickly avoided eye contact with him. Even if Annabeth survived, Percy could already sense the nightmares coming-perhaps a few more days (weeks, even) of sleepless nights, because of what she had seen. It had been like this every quest, their dreams getting worse and worse each year.

But Percy just gripped the railing tighter and ignored him. He supposed it wouldn't be very helpful to get into a heated argument with Jason when they finally seemed to be getting along. Eventually, Jason walked over to Leo, maybe to strike up a conversation that wasn't quite so depressing.

So this is what it felt like. This is how Annabeth felt the months that he was gone, not knowing if he was alive or dead, or worse. No dreams, no signs, and no messages. Percy had been dealing with this for a couple hours; when he thought about this for even a week, he felt like throwing up. Suddenly, he had a lot more respect for his girlfriend. She was very strong.

"Duck!" Leo shouted.

Percy immediately dropped to the deck, as did the others. When Leo took on a serious tone, they all knew to listen no matter what. As soon as his chest hit the wood, the ship rattled and pitched to the side. He could hear Frank and Nico screaming below deck. It soon straightened out, and they were able to get their balance. However, it was hard to ignore the raining debris from above.

The cavern was massive. Soft cords as thick as Percy's arm held aloft a large slab of rock. For a moment, he could've sworn that he saw a tapestry of him and Annabeth in their underwater kiss, but when he blinked, it had crumbled into dust. What he knew was the Athena Parthenos stood on one side, towering over all of them and seeming to be judging him, even though she was just a sculpture. She looked uncannily like the goddess Athena, like the sculptor had met her himself. He kind of wanted to trash the statue and get Annabeth and ditch the creepy place.

"Annabeth!" he called, fingers rushing to untangle the rope ladder from its harness. "Annabeth?"

It was silent, waiting for a response, but they finally heard a faint voice call. "I'm here!"

Percy almost fell off the ship from his sigh of relief. Finally, with the help of Hazel, he managed to push down the ladder, and he was the first to scramble down it to Annabeth.

"I love you," was the first thing he murmured breathlessly, grabbing her shoulders and checking for injuries. She looked beat, with a makeshift cast made of splintered wood and string around her ankle, a huge bruise on her torso, and little spider bites peppering her skin. Thin, silvery webs hung from her hair and body, like a wedding dress.

"I'm fine." Annabeth gently pushed him away, but still held his hand with a tight grip. Percy was okay with that. He wasn't ever letting her go again.

Once the other demigods secured the statue, Percy felt a little tugging on his arm. Annabeth was pulling him a little towards the edge of the cavern, where a large gap led to…nothing. What was strange was that she didn't seem to be doing it of her own free will. She stumbled unsteadily, heading for the pit. Her hand was ripped out of his.

"Her ankle!" Hazel screamed. Percy looked up at the ship, where the girl was pointing to them. "Cut it!" For just a second, while Percy stood in confusion, Annabeth fell to the ground, some of the dead-looking webs trying to wrap around her waist and legs.

His first instinct was never to run. All he knew was that Annabeth was in danger, and he couldn't lose her, and that he had _just_ promised to both of them that he wouldn't ever let her go again.

Percy leapt towards her, trying to grab her hand, but whatever was pulling her was too fast. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the shouts from the ship, and stampeding footsteps coming after him. He jumped, hooked his hand around a small wrist, and they were falling.

He didn't know how, but Percy somehow managed to grasp a small ledge ten feet below the edge of the pit, his hand being scraped raw and his shoulder becoming dangerously close to popping out completely. All he could hear were his own deafening, trembling breaths, blood pumping in his ears. Nico was leaning over them, and he vaguely recalled shouting some words. Percy just felt like giving up and dying already, and the rest of the crew was trying to make their way over to them. A voice hissed from the darkness below, taunting them, and Annabeth looked like she was about to cry.

Percy glanced down at Annabeth and she looked the most defeated he had ever seen her. But she was just so beautiful and he loved her so much and so he just

let

go.


End file.
